1975 Catalina 22 Hull/Deck Seam

[C_Level]

So I started doing some work on a 1975 C22 that I purchased last fall and as I expected it has morphed into a restoration. One of the first things I did was power wash the inside of the boat and I noticed water trails on the outside of the hull running down the hull from behind the rub rail which is most likely where the screws that hold that joint together were leaking. I then stripped the hull completely and started on the keel and hardware and is still work in progress.
Since then I have gone to the extent of flipping the hull up side down to make it easier for me to re-core the deck. In the process of cleaning and preparing for the re-coring I noticed some small pieces of rotted wood that were knocked lose and falling out of the hull deck seam.
I am guessing that it would be close to impossible to remove all of that wood from that seam without completely removing the deck from the hull which is not something I would even attempt. I saw that some have cut out a strip of the fiberglass around the inside perimeter of the hull to deck joint to expose the wood then replaced, re fiberglassed then resealed the outside but thought someone may have had another option that might be an easier method. Maybe I could tape the underside and drill some holes and fill up with apoxy then through bolt it. I am also concerned about removing all those screws and having that seam pop apart. Not sure if that could happen but also do not want to find out.
This is what the existing joint kind of looks like according to manual except it is not through bolted as they used screws into the wood and the toe rail is about 1/8 inch thick fiberglass and not solid as shown.

Below is a pic of that seam in my boat. There is a pocket that has plywood in the hull that is a couple of inches deep. The plywood is put in prior to assembling and can not be replaced .

 

[pclarksurf]

I am also concerned about removing all those screws and having that seam pop apart. Not sure if that could happen but also do not want to find out.

Many have removed the rub rail -- filled the myriad of holes (in some cases multiple sets of holes) with epoxy and replaced appropriately. I think your risk of the seam delamination from screw removal alone is darn near zero. If your joint was failing I think you would have seen that quite dramatically elsewhere. The screws alone to my knowledge serve no structural purpose save holding the rail on (and leaking )

 

[C_Level]

Since the boat is up side down those screws seem to be working a bit harder. I removed 8 or ten of them at the area at the forward part of the cabin and the deck dropped about 1/8 inch and I can easily push it down another 1/8". Whatever they used to fill the seam and seal it is completely hard and has no adhesive value at all to the hull.
I have the boat blocked up using the toe rail a few feet aft of the bow and near the transom on the toe rail and cockpit floor. I think I need to add a few more blocking points so I have the weight spread out at four points along the length of the toe rail to minimize some of the flexing the boat is now undergoing.
I also had to block up the cabin roof as the dimension between the dinette and the ceiling where the compression post is grew about 1 1/2 inches due to weight of the roof hanging. I had a temporary post jammed in there cause I replaced the wood embedded in the dinette that supports the compression post as it was rotted, wet and very sponges. When I flipped the boat the temporary post just fell out with a loud thud and woke us all up.
To eliminate my concern of the hull to deck seam separating I will put a couple of 2" rachet straps around it to be sure it won't come apart. I removed a 2" strip of fiberglass from the hull around the inside perimeter of the seam so now I can remove the old wood and install new. Some of the wood just fell out in little pcs and some of it was wet and rotted so it really needed replacing. Although It is not an easy fix it seems to be the proper thing to do to fix it right.